


Bound to You, Bound to Another

by RedPen1992



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Christmas Party, Cute, Fluff, Multi, Pining, Post-Punk Hazard Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedPen1992/pseuds/RedPen1992
Summary: A picture takes Tashigi down memory lane in light of some world rocking revelations.
Relationships: Smoker/Tashigi (One Piece), Smoker/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Bound to You, Bound to Another

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hamstercheese7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamstercheese7/gifts).



> Merry Chistmas, Ham!!!

Tashigi took the worn piece of paper in her hands and smiled, it had been a long while since this picture had been snapped, the edges well worn and the colors slightly faded. She closed her eyes and let the memories wash over her, the wake soothing over the jagged torn wounds in her heart. 

Fate is cruel. 

It had only been months since her assignment there, being from another small East Blue village and having transferred to this one was finally her big break, her opportunity to rise to the top and achieve her goals. She would do it, she would free all named swords from unfair and evil masters and put them in the hands of the righteous and good. 

At this base, just like any other she faces blatant sexism and ridicule. She was naive to be hopeful that the status quo would change just because it was a more prestigious location than the last place she was stationed, but grateful still for the transfer. 

The man who ran this base was known as the “Stray Dog,” the infamous Captain Smoker. The first time she had laid eyes on him she was honestly let down a bit. The man looked like a backstreet rascal, she had seen hundreds of them before. Tough and cool looking, despite his station he refused to wear the typical Marine officer’s cloak, opting instead for a jacket he wore shamelessly open. Cigars adorned his jacket in a neat row above his left pectoral, and in a band around his left bicep. 

His muscles looked like they were sculpted by the gods, and she was sure that he knew it. The way he flaunted his status without trying, the way he walked as if he had already seen it all pissed her off. He had been one of the fortunate ones, training at Marineford. 

“W-what was it like?” She had once asked him, turning in the work she had done and attempting to make small talk with the aloof man. From what she had seen he barely associated with anyone, preferring to keep to himself and not attending any of the social events that he wasn’t obligated by rank to go to. The opportunities to get to know her commanding officer was then limited to what little interaction she got in the professional manner, and she simply couldn’t refuse her curiosity. 

“It was a drag.” Smoker huffed, blowing smoke in her direction. 

She coughed lightly, her lungs not accustomed to the irritation. She couldn’t help but make a face at the smell of the smoke as well, its bitter stench making her nose crinkle, waving a hand in front of her face did nothing to abate the smell. 

“Sorry.” The Captain took the cigar from his lips and snuffed it out on the tray, a small pile of ashes already built up in it as well a couple of the used butts. The rest of the smoke wafted out the window. He sighed and put down his pen, looking out the window and scratching the back of his head. “There were people breathing down my neck the whole time, do this, do that…” 

Tashigi wasn’t sure if she was overstepping a line by saying it, but “That just means they had high expectations for you, Smoker-san, they believe in you.” 

He turned his icy gaze to her then, she froze. Her knees locked up and her blood ran cold, but at the same time a heat started in her chest, dusted her cheeks. Having his attention both excited and scared her. This was a Captain from HQ, and she couldn’t help but feel a little but intimidated. 

“Yeah.” 

The conversation ended awkwardly, Captain Smoker returning his attention to the papers in front of him as he set the pile she had just handed him aside. 

Saluting professionally she turned and left the room. 

The next time they interacted one on one, Tashigi asked him what he thought of having an office animal. It had been gnawing at her constantly since she had seen him feeding the stray cat by the alleyway behind the main office. 

She had been passing by, making her way to the mess hall when she saw it. Being forced to take a double take, she hid herself behind some crates as she peered over them. It made her feel a bit like she was invading a private moment, the way his face softened when looking at the small tawny cat. He fed her by hand, it was hard to make out from the distance but it looked to be tuna. 

As far as she knew the cat only came to Smoker, having tried herself the stray had even hissed at her and bolted away. When she asked around most who had seen it told her that she came to no one and stuck to herself. 

“It would be a bother.” Smoker dismissed the thought, having just lit up a second cigar, “I don’t want to end up like old man Sengoku either.” He huffed and a plume of smoke came out, but it directed abnormally out the window. She was starting to get used to the smell, starting to identify the woodyness of the cigars, the subtleties in the aroma as opposed to the standard cigarettes that the rest of the seamen tended to smoke. “He has this goat that follows him around like a dog… Actually now that I think of it, all animals love him.” 

Smoker looked out the window and Tashigi followed his gaze, there were a couple of marines training in the yard who looked like they were engaged in a push-up contest. 

"Come to think of it, Marineford is practically his personal zoo." Smoker leaned back in his seat, "He has an elephant he hides in the Admirals quarters for heaven's sake.”

“An elephant? The Fleet Admiral has an elephant?” Tashigi couldn’t help but giggle at the idea, it was near preposterous. “Are the Admirals alright with that?” 

He shook his head, his gaze drifting over something much further than the training yard. “Beats me.” 

“I have heard that animals can sense a kind heart.” 

The captain just grunted, closing his eyes and relaxing for a moment before opening them again and returning to his work, turning back to his desk and picking up his pen. “Thank you for your work, Tashigi.” 

She was slightly surprised he knew her name, being one of very many Marines under his command. A no doubt dorky smile split her face, “You’re welcome, Captain Smoker. Have a nice day.” 

Smoker returned the pleasantries and dismissed her, not bothering to look up from his work again as he buried his nose in it. The piles of paper that accumulated on his desk grew in number and bulk every day, littering even the ground around the man’s feet. 

The disorder to the office space unsettled her a bit as she wondered about the man’s organizational skills. If her working area had been half as messy it would surely cause her a great amount of anxiety, and he was practically swimming in it. 

“Um…” Tashigi bit her tongue immediately, it really wasn’t her place to ask it but it was worth a try. “Captain Smoker, if you ever need any help with the paperwork…” She fumbled with her words a bit, unsure of how to present what she wanted to say. “I am pretty good at organizing and I would be honored to help you with it if you ever need me to.” 

Captain Smoker eyed her for a moment, as if evaluating her offer and weighing it on a mental scale. His eyes quickly scanned over his own office, mild disdain showing clearly over his features as he looked at the multitude of stacks of paper surrounding him. His lips drew into a terse line and he huffed another large puff of smoke that wafted around him then drifted out the window. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to ask if I need it.” 

A little bit exasperated, Tashigi saluted again and left the Captain to his own devices. 

The next time she visited his office, he hadn’t even been in it. Word traveled quickly and she found herself chasing her Captain around Loguetown hounding relentlessly after a big shot pirate that had just made port and was going to make a run at the Grand Line. 

Following the crowd wasn’t hard, at practically every corner there were bystanders that were leaning out windows, rubbernecking from their stands and trying their best to catch a glance at the Marine Captain in action. 

Rounding the final corner, she finally caught up to him and even though she had heard of the devil fruit abilities, it was a spectacle for sure to see one in action. 

Captain Smoker’s arms had turned into white clouds of smoke that billowed in long funneling plumes up and around the Pirate gang, the white grey smoke held them high up in the air immobilized as their legs flailed kicking uselessly against the air. The substance writhed around them, contained and controlled it was a part of him. 

“Tashigi!” Smoker bellowed at her, attention turned towards her and a scowl on his face he ordered her to detain the pirates, both lit cigars bobbing from his lips. 

It took a moment for Tashigi to refocus, snapping shut her jaw that had hung open in awe she grabbed the Seastone Cuffs that hung around her waist and nodded to Smoker. 

After the pirates had been taken to the jail cells and the two of them were once again in the office, Smoker groaned as he fell backwards into his chair. Having grabbed the detainee files and the incident reports and laying them out on the already cramped room on his desk. 

“Um, Captain Smoker-san?” 

He looked through the gap in his fingers as he scrubbed his face with his hand, “Yes, Tashigi?” 

“If you need any help with the uh, with the paperwork I think I might be of assistance.” Tashigi scratched the back of her head, “At the very least I can help with organization.” 

“Hmm.” Smoker brought his hand down and took a good look at his office. It was littered with papers that he knew might be months old at this point, from wall to wall any horizontal surface that could possibly hold a stack of papers was sure to have one adorning it. Honestly, he could use the help. “Alright. Make sure to do a good job, Tashigi.” 

Tashigi snapped to attention, back going ramrod straight and her feet coming together with a click, bringing her hand to her forehead in a salute, “Yes sir!” 

Thus started their sharing of office space, which, Tashigi now thinks back on, might have been the nail in the coffin for her. 

It would have been perfect if the Fates would have allowed it to be that way. Maybe she was being crude by personifying the way of the world, the unseen thread, the cosmic plan… 

She felt betrayed on a deep level that had her heart bleeding from inside, the young hopeful girl's heart that had read the books on the theories of soulmates and the romantic adventures that happened between star crossed lovers that Tashigi had long buried in favor of the battle scarred woman she was today. 

As a child she read every book available on the topic at the local library, her parents had been soulmates and had told her “You will know when you meet them, there will be no doubt.” The idea that the universe had picked a person out to be her second half, her missing part just for her was the most beautiful fairy tale story she had ever heard. 

She would dream of the day she met her soulmate, the explosion of colors and feelings, the undeniable feeling that they were tied in some ethereal way, the reaction had been recorded in as many interpretations as there were books and poems on the topic. 

Words twisted in beautiful shapes that had a young girl gazing out her window way past her bedtime, wishing on every falling star that she would meet them and they would live ‘happily ever after.’ 

There were always the naysayers though, those who had just not met them yet, those who died not knowing who they were, who had never had the chance to meet them. There were just as many books claiming that there was no such thing, and then a whole slew of people who renounced the idea altogether. 

But she believes, and she still believes. But now she sees it differently. 

Tashigi had wondered if Smoker was her soulmate at some point, had wished for him to be when she was dog tired after a long day’s work and yearned for someone to hold her when she went to bed. She wanted someone to wake up to, to share breakfast with and to kiss before they left the door. 

In every account of finding one’s soulmate, there was always one very important theme; that there had been no doubt. There was nothing in the world that could convince a person that their soulmate wasn’t _theirs_ once they had found them, and she just didn’t feel that with Smoker. 

Eventually she threw those ideas to the wind after a night of impulsive action, taking a chance with Smoker and really appreciating the payoff. 

The picture immortalized a moment within the fragile worn paper. The edges had frayed a bit and the material was soft to the touch, the age of the memory encapsulated in ink felt even further away than she knew it to be. 

The Christmas decorations messily strewn across the room hung in jovial colors in the background, only part of the tree was captured in the corner. Shame, it had been a wonderful tree that year. The children of Logue Town donated their ornaments to the evergreen pine, its branches hung heavy with their hard work, little hand cut paper painted ones mixed in with ill fitted woodcut trinkets and accented with garland made of every sparkly material imaginable. 

The smell of the pine wafted through the courtyard, and left its presence known wherever the tree had been hauled in the form of little needles that the chore boys had lamented cleaning up. If she closed her eyes now she could smell it along with the spiced cider that was being cooked up by the sergeant's fifth platoon, a tradition that dated back more than a decade and a recipe that had gone unchanged for even longer. 

One of the chore boys had been tasked with hanging up the mistletoe, suspended on wire that had been strung taught across the courtyard positioned right above where the tiles on the ground intersected in the middle.

They hadn’t realised it until it was too late and the cameras had already been whipped out. 

Tashigi brought a hand to her lips, recalling the feeling of Smoker’s lips against hers that first time. It hadn’t been magical or breathtaking like in the books she read, which was a little disappointing but she remembers that she had been such a messy cocktail of emotions and adrenaline she had nearly bolted after the shudders went off. Honestly it was more of just a mushing of their lips together to fulfill a childish requirement for a game and expectation, not a true kiss.

Not like the ones they shared later. 

Not like the ones they shared now. 

She remembers the ooing and the aweing, the foolish gawking and crowing of the Marines made matchmakers and the bright crimson blush that had formed on Smoker’s cheeks. 

She looked at the Vice Admiral now, covered in bandages from head to toe and bed bound for the time being. 

What he had told her earlier left her in a state where she just couldn’t sleep. No. Her heart was in too much pain. 

After making sure the children were asleep for the nth time she had made it back around to Smoker’s bedside, careful not to rouse him from his much needed rest. Somehow this wound, this emotional stab had hurt more than any slash or gash she had sustained in her lifetime. It stung with more intensity than any bite, burned like poison through her veins and coiled around her heart. 

She almost wished he hadn’t told her. 

He looked at her with solemn intensity, then back to the wall peering at a memory or scene that she could not see. A journey she could not embark with him. 

“Trafalgar Law.” Eyebrows knit together suddenly as anger flared in his eyes that was quickly doused and replaced with tumultuous pain and then relaxing again. His lip twitched in displeasure before he threw his head back into his pillow again with a resigned huff. 

Tashigi took his hand in hers and squeezed, assuring him that she was there with him, she was willing to share the burden of whatever he had to bear. They would weather it together. She was sure they could. But as the fates would have it… they couldn’t. 

“He’s my soulmate.” 

After a beat of disbelief, Tashigi snapped back to the moment and sputtered, “What?” 

“I felt it.” The hand in hers squeezed tight before he averted his gaze off to the side away from her. “He did too. He confirmed it with me when we had a spare moment alone.” 

Tashigi didn’t know what to say, was there anything she could say? Her mouth opened to form sounds but none came out, as if her lips could pull the words from her brain and hung open until she got her mind about her. 

“When he took my heart, that’s when it happened.” Smoker continued, the hand that held Tashigi’s relaxing from it’s vice grip and almost becoming limp. His voice sounded so far away even though he was right there, his gaze drifted. “There isn’t any doubt in my mind.” 

The world is cruel. Fate is cruel to have done such a thing to Smoker, to her captain, her partner. To pair his soul with a delinquent Pirate who had threatened both of their lives, but ultimately had helped achieve their goal of saving the children. 

What would happen to them? To Smoker? To Law? 

Tashigi supposed only time would tell, but until then she dealt with her sleeplessness gazing at memories captured on paper, moments through her mind’s eye mulling them over and wondering just how much this day had changed their world.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enoyed! 
> 
> This is my first venture into Smo/Tash and I gotta say, I didn't ship it before, but now that I have my feet wet in it I like it. 
> 
> I ended up rewatching and rereading every instance of Tashigi and Smoker throughout One Piece to try and figure out their characters and I hope I did them justice. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
